But critics argued that the report failed to address complaints by those living close to turbines.
State officials said they formed the panel last spring to address questions about the potential health risks of wind power. The Patrick administration wants turbines to produce 2,000 megawatts of wind power - three-quarters of it from offshore sources - by 2020, up from nearly 45 megawatts available today.
The panel did not do original research, nor did it investigate reports of health problems among residents living near any particular turbine installation. Instead it reviewed existing studies.
It said the available scientific literature on the health effects of wind power remain limited, and that the studies that have been done had shortcomings, including that people self-reported their symptoms and that researchers were unable to control adequately for other possible factors that could have affected the health of people living near turbines.
“The study that accounted most extensively for other factors that could affect reported symptoms had a very low response rate,’’ the report said.
As the state and federal governments promote wind power, opponents have raised questions about the health impact of placing large turbines in residential areas.
Dr. Nina Pierpont, a pediatrician in Malone, N.Y., and author of a book called “Wind Turbine Syndrome,’’ said she has interviewed families throughout the United States, Canada, and elsewhere that have complained about the adverse impact of living less than a mile from a large turbine.
Pierpont, who became interested in the effects of turbines after a wind farm was planned near her home, said her research found evidence that certain people are more likely to be affected by the whirring of turbines than others. She noted that in the same families, some members exhibited symptoms ranging from vertigo to an excruciating buzzing in their ears while others were fine.
